Tag: Montreal Modern Quilt Guild (MMQG)

A New Quilt for a New Baby

I’ve just finished another quilt. This one is for a brand new baby, but not mine. It won’t even go to anyone I’ve met, and to be honest, I’m having a hard time parting with it.

Herringbone Quilt
A little bundle for a little bundle.

This quilt is part of the Montreal Modern Quilt Guild’s project to make baby quilts for the École Rosalie-Jetté, a secondary school welcoming teenage mothers and their babies. All of the fabric was donated, we sewed it up into quilts and the school will distribute the quilts to some deserving young mums very soon. You can read more on the project on the MMQG website.

Herringbone Quilt Top
Herringbone Quilt Top

Because we made our quilts during our guild sew-ins, I can’t take all the credit. Cinzia Allocca of Deux Petites Souris did a good part of the work, including making the quilt binding – which is always my least favourite part. Thank you Cinzia!

Herringbone Quilt Back
Herringbone Quilt Back
This way up!
This way up!

This herringbone quilt is heavily inspired by this fabulous grey herringbone quilt by Erica of Craftyblossom. But of course, since the fabric I used was donated, I didn’t have free reign, and that worked out much better than I had hoped. There is a lot more colour and contrast than my inspiration quilt, which I quite like. I arrived late to the sew-in where the fabric was distributed, but no one had taken the checks. How could you not want the checks, people? So fun!

Herringbone Quilt
I love checks!

Again, I followed the tutorial by Red Pepper quilts on machine stitched binding. I think this is great for baby quilts because they get a lot of rough use. And I prefer my quilts to be well-loved.

Herringbone Quilt
I opted for simple straight quilting.

I took a lot of photos of this quilt. I had been  waiting for a sunny day so I could have some good light for my photos, but luck was not on my side. It’s been rainy and grey for the past couple of days. Today was my last chance. Oh well.

Herringbone Quilt
Looks great with the right props.
Herringbone Quilt
I love the crinkly texture.

And then, to increase the difficulty level of the photo shoot, add three small kids. All my shots kept being photobombed by tiny feet.

Herringbone Quilt
Photobombed by tiny feet.

I really like how this quilt turned out and am a bit sad to let it go. Clearly, I will have to make another one that stays with me.

Herringbone Quilt
Herringbone Quilt – folded.

Herringbone Quilt

Quilt block: Half-square triangles (HSTs)

Size: 34 by 34 inches

Fabrics: unknown.

Mandatory Quilt Inspection
Mandatory Quilt Inspection

Herringbone Quilt – Work In Progress

This past March the Montreal Modern Quilt Guild held their latest sew-in. We’re currently making baby quilts for the École Rosalie-Jetté, a secondary school welcoming teenage mothers and their babies. All of the fabric has been donated, we sew it up into quilts and the school distributes the quilts to some deserving young mums.

I have been away from the blog for much too long. Unfortunately, a little family emergency has kept me mighty busy. Everything seems to be pretty much back to normal now, but of course there has been no time for any sewing. So instead I thought I’d share a work in progress (WIP).

This past March the Montreal Modern Quilt Guild held their latest sew-in. We’re currently making baby quilts for the École Rosalie-Jetté, a secondary school welcoming teenage mothers and their babies. All of the fabric has been donated, we sew it up into quilts and the school distributes the quilts to some deserving young mums. You can read more on the project on the MMQG website.

You may have seen this fabulous grey herringbone quilt by Erica of Craftyblossom. It’s really quite lovely.

Not knowing what fabric would be available, I thought I’d do something similar, since it uses small pieces to make half-square triangles and just requires a bit of contrast to work well.

Here are all the half-square triangles up on a design board. The blue is actually a teal colour, but I took these photos in a rush with my iPhone, and the colour is a bit off.

Herringbone quilt on the design board.
Herringbone quilt on the design board.

I’ve been working on this quilt with the very talented Cinzia Allocca of Deux Petites Souris. We only had a few hours to work, but I’m quite impressed by how much we were able to do. And I love how it’s turning out. I may have to make my own. I especially like the checks.

Half-square triangles (HST) that need to be trimmed.
Half-square triangles (HST) that need to be trimmed.

I have a big pile of half-square triangles (HST) that need to be trimmed before the next sew-in. Hopefully, we’ll finish up the rest of the quilt then. I’m so optimistic when I’m excited about a project.

A terrible photo, but at least the colour is accurate.
A terrible photo, but at least the colour is accurate.

The fabric isn’t what I would normally choose, but it’s quite liberating sewing with donated fabric since you can try pretty much anything.

Instead of sewing, today we made some Easter cookies. I know, I know, a little late. If you count the fact that I bought this cookie cutter for Easter last year and am only using it now, it’s actually a lot late. Oh well. And of course the kids are responsible for the rather (ahem) generous portion of sprinkles.

A little baking. I know these area little late.
A little baking. I know these area little late.

By the way, the Montreal Modern Quilt Guild is looking for new members. If you’re interested, you can attend our upcoming sew-in in May and see what it’s all about. Membership fees are quite low ($30 per year) and you can attend just one meeting and pay for just the one month, which comes out to about three dollars, I think. You’ll have to check with the organizers for the exact amount. I’ve been corrected! You can attend your first meeting for free (yay!) and after that, membership is pro-rated.  We alternate with a sew-in or a meeting each month and there are also some special events like workshops and lectures. You don’t have to be an expert (I’m on my fourth and fifth quilts) and I even saw people sewing (gasp!) clothing at the last sew-in. It’s all very friendly and laid back.